I got my island wed. afternoon and was able to put in a full day of xtream sailing in thur. It was all I hoped it would be, everything works and performs like a hobie. It is even packaged great with bags for the sail on the mast and a bag for the amas supports with foam spacers.

I was sailing in the mouth of the Cheasapeake with a nor'easter blowing in at 20mph and 5 to 6 foot swells it was a blast sailsurfing on their faces. The AI is incredibly stable and able to provide a wet & wild roller coster ride.

Thanks for the info Matt. I do have a couple other questions. The mast fits so loosely into its housing that it allows sandy water to flow in around it. I noticed it has already worn the bottom of the housing down to where I can see small spots of a white mesh.

1 is there anykind of grease or something similar that would reduce the wear without just making matters worse?
2 is there anyway of putting a gasket under the clip purchase to better seal it off? I think it would have to fit into the housing rather than on the mast or it would greatly impead turning the mast .

The water here is always filled with fine sand anywhere near the beach whenever there is any wave action which at the ocean front is always.

I want to thank all the folks at Hobie, the Island is one sweet ride and all I hoped she would be. Great engineering and fine craftsmanship. I really feel mine was made just for me.

gwiz is pleased as punch,:D who just got his too by the way

Last edited by gwiz on Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

The Island is very stable and able to sail with full sail in wind speeds of 30 mph but it will sail faster reefed than with the amas buried underwater. It seemed to be able to run along at about 12 to 15 knots on fairly flat water with 20 mph winds. Winds above that just buried the ama and lee side of the yak. At that point it is better to reef and sail flatter.

Riding wave tops and faces gave much faster speeds of I would guess near 20 mph. Talk about thrilling. I don't have a gps so my speed estimates could be off, but I have done a lot of sailing and windsurfing.

The Island is the most stable sailing craft I have ever sailed not quite the fastest but I had one of the most thrilling times of my life this last weekend sailing into a howling nor'easter. It was also by far the wettest ride. When going through waves the Island will plow through the top 2' or 3' leaving you to eat it. I really could have used a bubble cockpit.

Matt has Hobie make or have plans to make a dogger that will fit on the Island and if so will it stay put with waves crashing into it?
gwiz

Please remember to follow the US Coast Guard guidelines in regards to safe conditions when boating / sailing. Small craft advisories are posted when wind speeds reach speeds of just over 20 knots in most areas.

The existing Dodger can be modified to fit and we are working on what will be the best solution. The dodger will flatten a little when waves crest the bow, but seems to work well. The dodger covers the cockpit area up to your body and will block vision of the line controls etc and will not be recommended for inexperienced users. Our guys here used the dodgers and really liked having them in the rougher conditions.

The mast rotates on a stainless pin in a cup. Keeping the cup area clear of sand will be very important to prevent wear. Perhaps some type of cover will be important for sandy launching areas.

I just want to update my Island experience and share a solution I have come up with to tame the spray produced by pushing a kayak probably faster than God or Hobie ever intended.

I used a 4'x4 1/2' piece of 20 mil clear vinyl from the fabric store and trap graber clips from Northern tool to construct a Spray Shield. Here is a movie that shows it in action under windy conditions. I was sailing close-hauled so that I could free my sheeting hand to shoot the movie with my kodak 6meg in a camera bag.

I think you will be able to see that I am producing a goodly amount of spray but next to none was reaching my upper body or face. I believe if I had left more in the back hanging down it would have eliminated most of the water that came into the cockpit.

I will be refining my design and when I have some good static pics I will post to this thread.

Gwiz
It looks like that works. You were kicking up some spray and it looked at one point buried the alma and kept going. Cool any ideal how fast you were moving in video. Think there is any way I could see this live. I will be in the Va Beach area xmas to newyears and have a gps for the wrist you could wear. I did get to test drive a island in high winds small river though. Couldn't open it up though. lol I am sailing a 03 outback with sidekicks which helps alot for balance. Up here in the north east the season is kinda winding down. Thanks

Cool video.
Looking at your vinyl shield, it occurred to me that it will have some problems trying to be a diving plane at some point. I think its a good prototype.

Based upon your experience with the vinyl, would you think that what the boat needs is an optional, triangular shaped trampoline? fine mesh, to keep spray out. Sewn seams around the edges, grommets to attach etc? Attached to bow and the ama support bar, with an inch or so of "flap" hanging down on the rear edge?

Theres a little sail and canvas repair guy here who could knock one of those out in a few hours with a pattern to work from.

"Looking at your vinyl shield, it occurred to me that it will have some problems trying to be a diving plane at some point. I think its a good prototype. "

I tried it with 2 smaller shields and had a problem with the leeward side one digging in. I plowed through a lot of heavy stuff with the one piece and didn't notice it digging in if anything it seemed to lift and prevent the nose from submerging.

I didn't plow through the base of any huge waves so I can't say for sure what will happen but I plan to do a lot of sailing at the Ocean Front when I get a chance because sail-surfing is a real blast.

I think a fine mesh tramp material would work but it might fill the air with a mist that you would then sail into. There is a steady rush of water hitting the bottom when really booking and I like watching all the water thats not hitting me.

I am considering a way to batten the leading edges so they will not flap so much but fear the diving plane effect might kick in, its a work in progress but I felt it far enough along to share with those in warmer waters. Our season here is probably about done for.

Hobiekayaker, I was only going about 8 to 10 mph tops in the video because I was sailing one handed closehauled within a 1/2 mile of the windward shore. Out in the Bay it was really kicking and I was plowing through 3' waves without any problems or noticable slow downs, but it requires both hands to sail.

If the temps aren't too cold over the Holidays I would be up for some sailing and let you give it a try. I would like to get some gps readings but it is the sail- surfing speeds I am most interested in. Conditions were really only right during a howling nor-easter for it so I haven't done as much as I would have liked to. When you catch it just right it feels as though a giant has grabed your little yak and given it a good push.

I used to windsurf and the feeling is very similar except sitting down at water level. While sail-surfing is the only time the Island felt like it was ready to go airborne which probably wouldn't be good but oh what a feeling.

Boy that sure looks fun to me. gwiz Thanks for posting the video. email me if you think it's going to be warm enough to sail and we can set up a date/time. I hope the weather holds out. lol
hobiekayaker2@hotmail.com